Short answer
- Know your numbers first: margin per order and how much you can afford to pay for a customer.
- Fix the store (speed, product pages, checkout) before buying traffic.
- Set up email and SMS flows so abandoned carts and first-time buyers get followed up automatically.
- Then buy traffic: Google Shopping for people already searching, Meta ads to create demand.
- SEO and content build the free traffic that makes paid traffic cheaper over time.
Start with the numbers
Every channel decision depends on how much you can afford to pay to win a customer. A simple worked example with hypothetical numbers:
| Item | Hypothetical |
|---|---|
| Average order value | $60 |
| Product, packaging and shipping costs | $33 |
| Gross profit per first order | $27 |
| Customers who buy again within a year | 30%, roughly one more order each |
| Rough profit per customer over a year | $27 + (0.3 × $27) ≈ $35 |
In this example, paying $50 in ads to win a customer loses money; paying $20 makes money. If you don't know these numbers for your store, work them out before spending on ads. It changes everything that follows.
Fix conversion before traffic
Doubling the share of visitors who buy has the same effect as doubling traffic, without paying for it.
| Area | What to check |
|---|---|
| Speed | Product pages load quickly on a phone; heavy apps and huge images removed |
| Product pages | Clear photos, sizes or specs, shipping cost and delivery time near the price |
| Trust | Genuine reviews, a real returns policy, contact details, secure checkout |
| Checkout | Guest checkout, common payment options, no surprise costs at the last step |
| Navigation | Search works; collections make sense to a first-time visitor |
Email and SMS flows
Automated flows are the highest-leverage marketing for most small stores, because they work on people who already showed interest.
- Welcome series for new subscribers: who you are, best sellers, one reason to order now.
- Abandoned cart / checkout: a reminder, then an answer to the likely objection (shipping, sizing, returns).
- Post-purchase: thank you, how to use the product, a review request.
- Win-back: a nudge for customers who haven't ordered in a while.
Only text people who opted in to SMS, and include opt-out instructions. Email needs an unsubscribe link and a physical address under the CAN-SPAM Act in the US. My Content vs email marketing guide covers how email fits with content.
Paid traffic: Google vs Meta
| Google Shopping / Performance Max | Meta (Facebook & Instagram) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you reach | People already searching for products like yours | People who weren't searching but match your customer |
| Strength | High intent, especially for known product types | Discovery for new, visual or unusual products |
| Depends on | A clean product feed in Merchant Center | Strong creative, especially short video |
| Free option | Free product listings on Google for eligible products | Organic posts and shops, with limited reach |
If people search for what you sell, start with Google and a clean feed; see Google Shopping feed best practices. If you sell something people don't know to search for yet, Meta is often the better first test.
SEO and content
- Unique product descriptions, not the manufacturer's copy that dozens of stores share.
- Collection pages with a short, useful intro that matches how people search ("waterproof hiking boots for women").
- Product structured data so Google can show price and availability. Most modern store themes add this; check it.
- Helpful guides that answer buying questions ("how to choose a yoga mat thickness") and link to the right products.
Repeat purchases
Repeat customers are usually the cheapest sales a store makes. Ideas that fit small stores: refill or replenishment reminders timed to how long a product lasts, bundles, a simple loyalty perk, and asking for reviews at the right moment. Never reward customers for reviews on platforms that forbid it.
A 90-day plan
| Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Numbers, tracking (analytics, Merchant Center, Meta Pixel), speed and checkout fixes |
| 3–4 | Welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase flows live |
| 5–8 | One paid channel tested with a modest budget; feed or creative improved weekly |
| 9–12 | Scale what works, start SEO improvements to top collections and products, plan the second channel |
I help small stores with this as part of ecommerce & Shopify marketing, quoted after a free audit of your store. You'll get the audit whether or not you hire me.